This week we continued our author study of Eric Carle. We went through many more books by this author and illustrator. We compared his work and described the different characteristics of the illustrations in various books. We compiled the list into a brainstorming web that included that his work is colorful, uses collage, and is detailed.

We also modeled our writing after the Bill Martin, Jr. book illustrated by Eric Carle entitled, Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? We read this book and pointed out that many books Eric Carle writes and illustrates have repetition. Our writing was called, Kindergartner, Kindergartner What Do You See? The students each picked their own topic of what they “saw” and wrote and illustrated their individual pages.

In preparation for art class this week we worked on painting like Eric Carle does with tissue paper. Then on Thursday, in art class, the students used this paper to create turkeys in the same way Eric Carle creates his art.

Writer’s Workshop has continued to focus on including a beginning, middle, and end in our writing. We discussed that stories are more interesting when a story has these three parts.

Math Workshop has been focused on patterning, and we have been working with many different materials to create various patterns. We worked with unifix cubes, colored tiles, movement, and beads to demonstrate our knowledge of patterns.

On Tuesday we are going to have our Thanksgiving Feast. We have been reading books to learn more about the first Thanksgiving and ways to give thanks. We have highlighted the things we are thankful for in our own lives. We will be joining both classes and have our Thanksgiving meal followed by Thanksgiving themed activities. Remember we do not have school on November 21st, 22nd, or 23rd.